FF7 Shuffle
by PipTheAlmighty
Summary: A series of short oneshot type stories, featuring a specific character and song. Further summary and warnings inside.
1. Marble House

A/N: This is the first installment of a series one one-shot songfics. I wanted to challenge myself a bit, so I wrote down the names of as many FF7 characters that I knew well enough to write about (19 I think), and did a random itunes song shuffle and assigned randomly a song to each character. I dont think I have ever hated my eclectic tastes in music so much! haha. But this should be interesting for me, and hopefully those of you who read will also enjoy!

This one is a little strange, it didnt quite end up the way I thought it would. But I hope you enjoy!

Warnings: Mentions of male/male relationship, and super emo Genesis.

Disclaimer: I do not own final fantasy 7 or any of its characters.

Character: Genesis Rhapsados

Song: Marble House by The Knife

Summary: Genesis has a breakdown, and ponders his madness.

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><p><em>You close my eyes and soothe my ears <em>  
><em>You heal my wounds and dry my tears <em>  
><em>On the inside of this marble house I grow <em>  
><em>And the seeds I sow will grow up prisoners too <em>

* * *

><p>Genesis was a mess.<p>

It didn't happen all the time, but every once in a while he would just break down. There was never any warning, it would just happen.

It started as rage, some little miniscule thing would set him off, and he would destroy anything he could get his hands on. Then eventually, it would progress to him causing hurt to his own self. He would punch walls, slam his head into hard surfaces, and the like.

Then there was the final stage, which he currently found himself in. It was the crying stage, which he hated more then the other two combined. Genesis would just cry, uncontrollably for hours on end.

He had no idea why he had these fits, or how to stop them. He'd gone to doctors of all types to figure out why, to find a medicine to help it, something. ANYTHING! But nothing was found, no reason for them uncovered.

He'd had one therapist tell him that he had "Artist's Syndrome" which was something apparently those of a more artistic nature often had that caused extreme or minor emotional outbursts, depending on the individual. Another told him that he probably had unresolved childhood issues which cause him to act out in childish fits. And another said that Genesis was just a whiny attention seeker.

He'd gotten a lot of different diagnoses, but none of them seemed to fit. None of them felt like the real reason. Whatever the true issue was, it was nothing as asinine as the possibilities that had been presented to him. No, it was something more..innate. Something that was part of him, deep in the very strands that held his being together.

Genesis felt so...wrong.

The only time he didnt feel wrong, was when he was with _him. _His beautiful, dark-haired angel.

Genesis was sure that if Angeal had not been in his life, he would have broken a long time ago. The red-head didnt know what he would do if his dark-haired lover ever left him.

No, that wasn't entirely true. He did know what would happen.

He would shatter like a mirror, and break into a million little pieces.

But he DID Have Angeal, and the man took such good care of him. Genesis didnt know what to do half the time! His lover gave so much. So much love, care, took care of him. He did so much, and the red-head often felt bad because he had no idea how he would ever repay it.

Angeal would always say "Just love me back, thats payment enough for me."

But Genesis never felt like it was enough. No, no it was never enough. Not for Angeal. His lover deserved so much more.

So much more then him.

Genesis let his eyes roam the living area from his current place, curled up on the carpetted floor. Every vase, glass, and ceramic item that had been in the living area was now shattered, and spread out over the plush carpet. He'd flipped and smashed the coffee tabled, and shoved the TV down on top of it, breaking the screen. The coat stand had been bent and twisted like a pretzel, and used to break the two windows in the room. And the pony-tail palm tree that had been siting by the windows in a large planter was overturned, dirt pouring out onto the floor.

He had thoroughly destroyed the area, a thought which only made him sob even harder.

He'd destroyed his and Angeal's home. Again.

This really was NO way to pay back Angeal for all he'd done for him, for all his love. It was awful! Angeal didnt deserve this. Genesis was a monster. How could his angel love a monster?

The click of a key turning in its lock, and the rush of air from a door opening disturbed the red-head from his mental downward spiral. Teary eyes peered up through sweat soaked bangs, locking onto the form of his angel.

Angeal looked surprised at first, and confused. His eyes found Genesis' form, curled up on the carpet among the mess of what was once their living room. Panic flooded his gaze, and he made it quickly to the red-heads side, being careful as to not kneel on any glass.

"Gen? What happened! Are you hurt?"

Their eyes locked, and held each others for a moment. Madness and despair in one set, concern in the other.

Genesis let out a broken sob and grabbed whatever he could of Angeal, and clung to him.

The red-head had realized in that moment that yes, Genesis didnt deserve someone as wonderful as Angeal. Even so, he didnt think he could ever let him go.

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><p>AN: Hope everyone enjoyed! Review and let me know what you think!<p>

PipTheAlmighty


	2. Dream

Did my best with this, but I'm sure there are still some mistakes. Feel free to point them out.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own final fantasy 7 or any of its characters.

Character: Angeal

Song: Dream by The Vincent Black Shadow

Warnings: Mentions of M/M relationships, and some weird and possibly scary stuff.

Summary: Angeal has an interesting, and frightening dream.

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><p><em>Wide awake for much too long<em>  
><em>My eyes glued to the table<em>  
><em>Tried to feign authority<em>  
><em>But sadly wasn't able<em>  
><em>And then it threw me to the floor<em>  
><em>I never dream..<em>

* * *

><p>Angeal never dreamed. Every night his eyes would flutter shut as he fell into unconsciousness, then flutter back open when the morning came. There was never anything between.<p>

So imagine his surprise when that night his eyelids fluttered closed, then startled open to a place that was definetly not his bedroom. The walls of his surrounding were not the sleek midnight blue of his room, but unfinished wood panelled walls. The room was mostly dark, with a bit of light shining through a dirty window to the far right of the room. He was seated on a musty old bare mattress on a creaking wood bedframe.

The dark-haired man moved off the bed, and stood, taking a look at the rest of his surroundings. To the far left of where he stood was a weak looking panelled wood door with a rusty copper knob, and what looked to be scratches. Long narrow scratches down the body of the door. Grey-blue eyes shifted to the right and found a large wardrobe up against the wall, a thick layer of dust covering it.

Angeal turned towards it and took a few steps, but stopped as his foot set on something a little sturdier then the rest of the place. He looked down and found himself standing on a steel hatch built into the floor. It had a small, silver door knob built into it instead of the usual metal bar or steel ring used for opening it. Curious, Angeal backed off the door, and kneeled down to take a closer look at it.

The knob itself had no keyhole, or lock. It was just a plain door knob. He twisted it, and the door popped open. He pulled the hatch up, and peered down into darkness. Angeal heard nothing at all coming from the room, not a sound. To most that would be a good sign, but the dark-haired man knew better. There is always something somewhere making noise, especially in a basement type room. Rats, dripping water, a drifting breeze. But there was nothing. That made him nervous.

Should he investigate? Did it matter? This was a dream, wasn't it? Angeal had no clue. He'd never dreamed before, was it supposed to feel so real? He figured wether dreaming or not, that he could handle himself if a situation arose. He was a SOLDIER first after all.

Carefully, Angeal made his way down the rickety wooden ladder leading into the basement. He turned when his feet touched solid ground, and peered out into the darkness. An idle thought crossed his mind, and surprised the hell out of him when his surroundings reacted. He had wished for a moment that he had had his fire materia, and immediately torches lit up all around the room, and he could see.

The room was circular, with torches lit up all along the wall. To his right there was a dusty wood table covered in nick nacks, and odd bits of things. To the left there was a medium-sized glass display case filled skulls. Some where human, some were not. There was an odd one that had a blue stone embedded into it. The stone glowed softly, the same type of glow as materia.

Angeal turned away from the grotesque display, eyes settling on an even more macabre scene. Far ahead of him, up against the far wall stood a coffin. And not a simple, wood one either. Sleek, black, and not a speck of dust on it anywhere. He stepped forward, making his way over to it. A few feet away from the propped up coffin, Angeal heard a loud crunch under his boot. He looked down, and found that he had stepped on bones. A pile of them, actually. He couldn't see them before when he was on the other side of the room, but now he could see them. The floor all around the coffin was littered in bones of all types, shapes, and sizes.

Disturbed didnt even begin to express how Angeal was feeling at that moment. But still, he continued forward, doing his best to avoid stepping on anymore bones. It was disrespectful to the dead, and left a swirling sick feeling in his gut.

When Angeal was finally set in front of the coffin, he reached out and grabbed the cover. He readied himself incase something jumped out, then slowly but carefully pulled it open.

It was empty.

Angeal released a sigh of relief. There was nothing here, which was fantastic. His curiosity had been cured, and he could leave. Quickly, the dark-haired man made his way up and out of the creepy little basement. He kicked the little door shut, and began dusting off his pants.

A soft, low creak caught his ears. Angeal froze, and listened in to find where it was coming from. His breath hitched as he realized that whatever it was, was behind him. Slowly, he turned to see what was making the noise. The doors to the wardrobe were open wide. It was a little hard to see into it at first, but then he noticed something...move. Yellow orbs appeared within the darkness, and a soft growl was heard.

Angeal stepped back slowly as the creature climbed out of the wardrobe, not once looking away from it. At first it had seemed small in the confined space he'd found it in, but he was wrong. It stretched out its long gangly arms, and stood up straight on tall, gnarled legs. Its form was wrapped in bits of black leather, and a dark grey cloth. Pieces of a silvery metal protruded from the feet, and a sleek silver claw was fused to its right arm. The face was human shaped, and pale bone white hair fell in knotted tresses over boney shoulders. The face may have been humanoid, but the eyes were anything but.

Angeal had no words. Never in his life had he seen anything so..frightening.

It grinned, baring a mouth full of sharp teeth. A noxious green liquid dripped off its fangs and onto the floor. It leapt.

Angeal tried to get out of the way, but it was too fast and knocked him to the floor before he could take his first step away. It was on him before he could do a damn thing about it. Cold metal ripped into his shoulder before he could stop it, causing him to cry out in pain. The dark-haired man managed to get a hold of the clawed arm, and brought one leg up to try and push it off. It didn't work. He was able to keep the monsters teeth far enough away from his throat, but he was unable to kick it off. The beast was just too strong.

Angeal looked desperately around to see if there was anything that could help him. And thank Gaia, there was. The knob on the hatch was close enough that he could just about reach it. He stretched out his right arm, and was just able to twist the damn thing and pop it open. He hooked his fingers under the metal door, and used as much strength as he could to throw it open. It worked. Jagged teeth were just about to his throat as his hold on the creature weakened. Using what strength he had left, he flung the monster sideways and down into the basement, barely managing not to fall himself. Quickly, Angeal slammed the hatch shut, and pulled the wardrobe down on top of it.

Angeal took a moment to catch his breath, and assess the situation. He had no weapon, no materia, nothing he could use against the creature. So, should he stay and fight anyway? Or run, and hope to find help or a possible means of deatroying it?

His thoughts were disrupted by the sudden banging coming for the hatch, which shook the wardrobe. Taking the route of common sense, Angeal chose to run. Out the front door he went, as fast as he could. Once he was outside, he continued to run in a random direction.

He was running down a cobblestone path, odd street lamps lighting the path. To the left, and right of him, there were very odd looking house. All different shapes and sizes, but each and every one of them were a charcoal black. The structure of the houses were odd, gnarled like a trees roots. Dark tinted windows graced each house, four for the two-story houses, and two for the one-story ones.

After 10 minutes of running, Angeal stopped to catch his breath. He took a quick look over the current surroundings, making sure the creature hadn't been hot on his tail. There was nothing, no one. It was quiet, too. The only thing he could hear was the frantic beating of his own heart. The dark-haired man leaned against a short, cobblestone wall, still trying to catch his breath. A few minutes later after getting his breathing under control, Angeal pushed up off the wall and stepped back onto the cobblestone path. He looked down the way he had come, and found nothing. He thanked Minerva for her kindness. He looked down the path ahead of him, and froze. There was a blue flame in the middle of the road up ahead, just standing there. It was a large flame, sort of human shaped.

Going against his better, Angeal made his way towards it. Interestingly enough, the closer he got to it, the cooler the air became. It was..soothing. The gash on his shoulder began to feel a bit better. He also noticed as he came closer to it, that there was someone inside of the flame. When Angeal was just a few feet away from the flame, he could clearly see that yes, there was a person inside. They looked to be male, and kinda short, with spiky hair. He couldn't tell the hair or skin color because of the fire.

Suddenly, the male turned towards Angeal. The flames died down, and he found the brightest pair of blue eyes he'd every seen, looking into his own with concern. His skin was pale, and hair as bright as the sun. His looks were startling, but also mesmerizing.

The boy's eyes widened suddenly, and he whispered loudly to Angeal.

_"Look out!"_

Confused, Angeal started, and spun around, coming face to face with the monster. It pulled its clawed arm back, preparing to strike the man. It was too quick, and Angeal just couldn't move fast enough. He closed his eyes, waiting for the strike that was sure to come. It never came. He opened his eyes, and found the beast frozen mid strike. Like literally, frozen. The icy type. The man backed away from the frozen monster, and turned back to the boy with blue eyes.

He was gone.

Angeal turned back to the creature, and it too was gone. He frowned, quite confused.

"Geal?"

A voice from behind startled the dark-haired man, and he turned to come face to face with Genesis and Sephiroth. Genesis' right shoulder was torn up pretty bad, and he was favoring one leg over the other. Sephiroth had a nasty claw mark down his chest, but otherwise looked fine. They both looked concerned.

"Gen? Sephiroth? Whats going on?"

Genesis seemed to be speaking, but no words were coming out. Angeal frowned.

"Gen, I can't hear you.."

Genesis seemed to be upset about that, talking with more fervor. Still, no words came out. Angeal was about to speak, when another voice broke in.

"G-Geal.."

It was coming from behind him. Angeal turned, and found a most heartbreaking image. Laid out on the cobblestone was sephiroth, bloodied and pale. Well, paler then usual anyway. His eyes were open and cloudy, mouth slack, with dried blood down the sides of his face. Genesis was collapsed at Sephiroth's side, arms and head rested on the silver-haired man's still body. The red-heads face was tilted upward, pale blue eyes full of tears.

"Geal..h-help...s-seph..oh minerva..."

A scream tore through his lips as eye shot open, a wild and frantic look within them. Angeal shot up into a sitting position, and looked about the room in a state of panick. Midnight blue walls, and a comfy non-musty bed. He was in his room. It had been a dream. A horrible, horrible dream.

He would call his lovers anyway, just to be sure.

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><p>Let me know what you guys think!<p> 


	3. Cemetery Drive

A/N: This ones alll about Hojo, haha. I don't like the creep, but I thought it would be interesting to try at writing him. Now im gonna say that this is not following the DoC story line cuz honestly, I never finished the game.

Also, the end of this little ficlet is actually the begining of another that i'm currently working on called "Inhuman".

Hope ya'll enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own final fantasy 7 or any of its characters.

Character: Hojo

Song: Cemetery Drive by My Chemical Romance

Warnings: Hojo...yeah that's about it.

Summary: Hojo remembers and ponders the love he once had, and the misconception of others.

* * *

><p><em>I miss you, I miss you so far<em>  
><em>And the collision of your kiss that made it so hard..<em>

* * *

><p>Hojo knew what people thought of him.<p>

That he was a monster. Heartless.

And honestly? He couldn't deny it. He was a bastard, and he knew it. But break throughs were never made with a kind word, or gentle hand. Mercy had no place in the world of science. Maybe hojo took it a bit far sometimes, but it was necessary.

And now he might have been quite the monster, but Hojo was not completely heartless. Lucretia came to mind.

He had loved her a great deal. He hadn't acted like it most of the time of course, his first love was and would always be science. She had been a close second, though.

She was so beautiful. He had liked to watch her trot around the lab, beautiful brown hair swaying left and right. Sometimes he would call her name just to have her turn around, and focus her lovely dark eyes on him. Sweet, lovely Lucretia.

That blasted turk just had to come along, and ruin her. Put nasty, rebellious thoughts in her head. She started questioning everything. Herself, her own actions, the work. A scientist should NEVER question the work.

At one point Lucretia had tried to leave, her turk in tow. Foolish boy had a notion in his head that 01 was his offspring. So, Hojo shot him, and left him to bleed out. Lucretia stayed with the turk, attempting futiley to stop the bleeding. It was a fatal wound, so with no worry that the boy would be revived, he left them.

Later, once the child was born, it was taken from Lucretia immediately. She cried, begged, pleaded to hold her child, to see it. Hojo had almost given in to her plea's. Almost. But the work was more important, and if she had her way 01 would be ruined too. Too much time and effort had gone into the project, he wasnt about to throw it away for _love._

Not long after she had given birth, Lucretia dissapeared.

He'd been able to get the turks (ironically) to go out looking for her, but they found nothing. No trace, like she'd never existed. Hojo had hoped for the longest time that she would just show back up, cheerful smile on her face and begging for a task to complete. That day never came, though. He'd given up hope long ago that it ever would.

Hojo had gotten what he wanted, though. The perfect specimen. 01, or Sephiroth as his mother named him. He felt that giving 01 a name had been a bad idea, it could cause some sort of mental dysfunction. Or worse, have it start believeing it was human. Both were bad, but the latter worse. Still, in order for it to function in normal society it would need some type of name. And...Lucretia had wanted it to have that name, so he allowed it. A bit of weakness that he was sure would be his ultimate downfall.

Getting past the dramatics, Hojo had had an easy time training the boy. There had been a few hiccups though. Gast Faremis being one, of course. That soft hearted fool was always trying to instill his high horse morality complex on 01, but Hojo took care of it. Not that way he wanted to, but it had been dealt with. He was kicked out of Shinra, and forced to leave midgard. It was foolish, but Hojo had had no control over that decision.

Then there was the boy's first puberty cycle. That had been a nightmare. For two Gaia forsaken years after the start of that, 01 would not listen to a single command. It was a strange, messy few years. But eventually 01 evened out, and everything returned to normal. Mostly, anyway. The boy retained some rebellious behavior, but at least progress was flowing once again.

Hojo was often asked by others, Shinra scientists and employees alike, how could he possibly experiment on his on his own child? The scientist often replied that he would experiment on his own mother (who was actually quite alive, and well) if he thought he could make some sort of scientific breakthrough. The response to that was almost always aghast, horrified expressions, or severe disgust. Hojo did not care though, his goals were clear and he would not let morality get in the way.

Though, he was curious. Hojo had always assumed that 01 was his offspring. His, and Lucretia's. But that turk, the one he shot, had strongly believed that the boy was his. The notion had to come from somewhere, thoughts like that didnt come out of nowhere. He supposed Lucretia could have put the idea in the fools head, but it didnt seem like her. Unless..it was true.

To clear the nagging thought from his mind, Hojo decided to do a paternity test. It took about two weeks to come back, and when the scientist read the results off the sheet, he immediately flipped his shit. He flipped tables, beakers and vials crashed against walls, and he had amazingly managed to knock over a full vat of mako. It was bad.

He was not Sephiroth's father. Hojo had managed to get a sample of the turks DNA from the shinra records, and tested it against Sephiroths along with his own. It had been a match. That thrice damned turk managed not only to take Lucretia from him, but screw up the JENOVA project by adding in his flawed genes.

No matter though, he could fix this. It would just take a different method, but the JENOVA project could and would still be a success. The key would be to get 01's mind to break down so the personality could be purged, and reshaped. It would take a while, but Hojo was patient. It would be worth it in the end.

Hojo was brought out of his meandering thoughts of the past by Sephiroth himself entering the labratory, donning his usual ridiculous leather atire.

"Ah, Sephiroth. Late as usual I see."

He got no response from the boy, just the usual silence that came with these visits.

"And as talkative as usual, I see? Its good I suppose, best not to pretend to be something your not."

Hojo would take great glee in tearing Sephiroth down piece, by piece.

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><p>Hope you guys enjoyed! R&amp;R if you will, and let me know what you think!<p>

~PipTheAlmighty


	4. Girls not Grey

Character: Tifa Lockhart

Song: Girls Not Grey by AFI

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, any of its characters, or the song used in this.

Warnings: Obsession, and a bit of angst.

Summary: Tifa ponders her history with Cloud, and why she loves him.

* * *

><p><em>What follows has led me to this place<em>

_where I belong, with all erased.._

* * *

><p>She loved him<p>

At first, it was driven by guilt. A horrible aching sickness in her belly when she thought of their childhood, what he went through. Things that could have been avoided, if she had just spoken up. She had become obsessed with making things right, which is why she had gone to midgard in the first place.

To find Cloud, and apologize. She'd had the whole image of what would happen in her minds eye. She would bump into him by chance on the street one evening, on a darkened street. Their eyes would meet, as they stood under lamplight. He would open his mouth to speak, but she would beat him to it and apologize. He wouls stop, open and close his mouth in shock as he stared at her in disbelief. Then a smile would break out onto his face, and she would throw her arms around him joyfully, and they would share a romantic kiss under the moonlight.

It was ridiculous, romantic in an unrealistic way. For so long she had been stuck on the idea of being with Cloud, loving him, having children with him. Having this whole pretty white picket-fence type life with him. She'd followed him, through hell and back with thinking and believing that her love for Cloud was strong and true and perfect.

She had not understood what love was, not in the least. It had all been driven by guilt, ego, selfishness.

Fear.

Fear that she was as horrible a person as she thought she was.

After the incident with the remnants, something had changed with Cloud. He became...distant. Not depressed necessarily, but..it was as if he was fading away. It was like he just wanted to go away somewhere , jump on his bike and never come back.

He was...tired.

In reaction to this behavior, she clung harder to him. She called him everyday, sometimes more then once a day. She texted his phone constantly, and when he was at the bar she clung to him harder then lint to microfiber. All the while telling her self she was doing it because she loved him, and that he needed love. That it was up to her to save him, help him.

Ego. She clung because she was afraid, and guilty. And because she couldn't let go, she ended up hurting him. He would come home less, call less, respond less. And in response, she was hurt, and the guilt just got worse and worse.

She kept doing it. Why coldn't she do anything right?

After almost a year of not a sight nor word of Cloud, he showed up out of the blue. He was a bit dirty, but no worse for wear.

She had been so happy to see him, and at the same time, furious. She refused to speak to him, opting for the silent treatment with intense and vehement looks. He spent a day there playing with marlene and denzel, working on his bike, and trying to get Tifa to talk to him. She was stubborn though, and did not give in.

That day ended, and a new day began. Cloud prepared his things to go and packed them onto Fenrir, double checking to make sure everything was secure. When he was ready, he said his goodbyes to the children.

And finally, she understood. In that moment she knew why she loved Cloud, a question she could never answer before.

She loved Cloud, because despite everything he'd been through he still chose to fight. Not for himself, but for everyone else.

He was a true hero, and she loved him for it.


	5. Born to Die

Character: Reno

Song: Born to Die by Lana Del Ray

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or any of its characters, or the song used in this.

Warnings: Angst, character death.

Summary: Reno's inability to keep his mouth shut gets him and Rude in trouble, for the last time.

* * *

><p><em>Choose your last words, this is the last time<em>

_cause you and I, we were born to die_

* * *

><p>He wondered, idly, if Tseng would even notice they were gone.<p>

Reno truly regretted his inability to keep his mouth shut. This time, it cost him more then just a few broken ribs and slight concussion.

He and his best bud Rude were part of one of the most infamous gangs under the plate, the Turks. It wasn't numerous in members, but each person was incredibly skilled in whatever profession they chose. For Reno it was street fighting, his weapon of choice the electro-mag rod. Rude specialized in hand to hand combat, his style a mix of martial arts and street fighting. They were a knock out team, and were rarely seen without each other.

Reno really felt bad he had dragged his partner into this mess.

They had been patrolling Turk territory when they'd come upon some members of an opposing gang, AVALANCHE. He could see they were looking for a fight, attempting to goad him and Rude into a fight. Rude had told him not to, that they should go and get back up because there was no way the two of them could take down six guys, but he didn't listen. He charged right in, electro-mag charged up and dangerous. Rude followed, not wanting to leave his partner to fight alone.

They had won, him and Rude. But at a cost.

They'd taken all six of those guys down, killed them good. But not without damage to themselves. Reno was currently lying in a pool of red, his life blood pouring out of him through a wound in his gut. He had a hand pressed down hard on it, but it wasn't helping. He'd already lost too much. He turned his head to the left to peer at Rude, who looked unconscious. He was beat to hell, and seemed to be bleeding from bullet wounds in his chest, and shoulder.

"I'm so...sorry bro.." Reno coughed, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth. "Just couldn't keep my mouth shut, never can, you know me, yo.."

He turned his head back to stare above him, sight greeted by the darkness of plate that blocked his view of above.

"Man, I wish I could see the sky..just one time." He turned his head towards Rude again, an almost sad look marring his features. "We always said we'd get out of this hell hole, see the sky, the world.."

He turned his head back, looking above them once again.

"Guess we are leaving it though, just not in the way we thought.." He laughed, the startling sense of irony settling over him. He felt himself begin to slip away. In the distance he heard hurried footsteps, and maybe someone calling his name?

"Too late, yo.."

His eyes slipped shut.


	6. Oxidising Angel

Character: Kadaj

Song: Oxidising Angel by Blutengel

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or any of its characters, or the song used in this.

Warnings: Jumbled thoughts, and character death.

Summary: Kadaj's strange and jumbled thoughts at the end.

* * *

><p><em>He created an angel just for himself<em>  
><em>He gave her beauty, he gave her life<em>  
><em>But she could not live without a soul<em>  
><em>So she faded away again<em>

* * *

><p>It had been so cold before.<p>

Before he was alive.

It had been dark, cold, and the air around him was acrid, and thick. Was it even air? He had no idea, it was before he was alive. Nothing before he was alive mattered.

His brothers came after he was alive. He loved his brothers. Even if Loz was a crybaby, and Yazoo was too quiet. He loved her too.

Mother.

They all loved mother, even the other one, the brother in their blood. The one who could only live through them. If he loved mother, then Kadaj supposed he could love the other one too.

Then there was the other, other brother. He did not love mother, he feared her. Hated her. Mother calls him the Hero of the dawn. I don't understand, how could a hero not love mother?

Mother was a goddess. Pure and joyful.

She is the stars.

Mother ordered us to go find our brother who does not love mother, and destroy him. Destroy everything, and find her. Find her, and join with her, and bring other brother who is mothers favorite, back into the world. Bring her back into the world.

We did as mother told. But we failed.

We failed to kill our other other brother, Cloud. He was too strong, his friends were too strong.

Even when I joined with mother, and became the brother in our blood, Sephiroth. He beat him too. How was he so strong? Mother said he was a failure, that her sons would easily overcome him.

I guess we were the failures.

My brother, the hero of the dawn, held me in his arms as I died. I don't know why he did that, we had tried to destroy him. We hurt people he loved, yet he looked at me with sympathy. He looked sad as my life bled out onto him.

I didn't understand it. But I wanted it, wanted to know that look, understand the emotion.

I wanted to be human.


	7. Hero Of War

Character: Reeve Tuesti

Song: Hero of War by Rise Against

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or any of its characters, or the song used in this.

Warnings: M/M, if you squint real hard.

Summary: Reeve ponders the sacrifices he made, and if they were worth it in the end.

* * *

><p><em>A hero of war, is that what they see?<em>

_Just Medals and scars, so damn proud of me.._

* * *

><p>Boy, it'd been one hell of a ride.<p>

From when he was working at Shinra, till now with the WRO, there'd been so much. Even before that, when he was a child and Shinra took him from his mother, there was just...so much. So many friends had been lost, and new ones made. So much death, and meaningless carnage. And all because of one company, one conglomerate of corrupted individuals.

Shinra.

A name that will never be forgotten, a word of warning that greed and a lust for power never work out for the almost destroyed the world with their unquenchable desire, and now Reeve was left to pick up the pieces.

After the meteor incident, people were enveloped in chaos, unable to pull together. Out of necessity, and the survival of the people of Gaia, he stood up and took control of the reigns, creating the WRO. To bring balance and order back to the world.

He never wanted this. Any of it.

Reeve was tired. He'd been fighting everyone and everything for so long, he just wanted to be left alone, to dissapear. Find a quiet place, and live out the rest of his life in peace with Caitsith and his other creations. And maybe, just maybe, be able to finally mourn everyone he'd lost in the war against Shinra.

He didn't want to be a hero.

He saw the toll it took on Cloud, and the rest of the Ex-AVALANCHE members. Cloud especially though. He'd given everything to save this world, everything except his life, which he'd been ready and willing to give.

The world cheered for us, For me and Cloud. For all the others who had a hand in saving the world, dubbing us Hero's of Gaia. They placed us on pedestals, and begged us for wisdom, for us to lead.

What were we fighting for again?

Freedom from tyranny and corrupt leaders? To save the world from total and utter destruction? Yet, they do the same things that got them into such trouble in the first place. Why did we bother? And if any one of these people knew what their "Heroes" had to do to save them, the sacrifices made and horrors that transpired, they would not idolize us.

They would hate us.

It's fine and dandy to have someone else save you, as long as you don't have to know the how. That way, you can still sleep at night. The ones doing the saving are never so lucky.

Reeve still had nightmares.

He'd always had nightmares, as long as he could remember. But they became increasingly worse after the destruction of Sector Seven. He'd tried to stop it, and went straight to president shinra about it and begged, _pleaded _with him not to do it. He'd refused though, and put Reeve on a mandatory respite.

Since then, he'd gained many more reasons to not want to go to sleep. Reeve supposed that in the end, that was part of being a "Hero". Never having another goods night sleep, no matter how much good you do.

It never erases the bad. But it does make it easier to live with, just a bit. To know that you did something good, you helped someone, saved an innocent child. Its the only reason he was still doing this job. Well, mostly anyway.

His gaze shifted from the paperwork that he'd been staring at aimlessly for an hour, to the dozing form of Tseng, who had fallen asleep doing paperwork. He was resting back in his chair, his left hand resting on Caitsith, who was curled up in his lap and purring.

This brought a gentle, loving smile to Reeve's face.

Yes, even though this job was hell, it was worth it. Every bit of pain.

Reeve would do this job for as long as he was needed.


	8. Crawling in the Dark

Character: Aeris

Song: Crawling in the Dark by Hoobastank

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or any of its characters, or the song used in this.

Summary: Aeris considers her options after Sephiroth gets hold of the black materia, and makes a selfless decision.

* * *

><p><em>And I wish I could know if the directions that I take<em>

_And all the choices that I make_

_ won't end up all for nothing_

_Show me what its for_

_Make me understand it_

_I've been crawling in the dark, looking for the answer_

* * *

><p>She was tired, they all were.<p>

They continued to strive forward, to save the planet. But it wasn't enough, not now. Sephiroth had the black materia, meteor. He was going to summon it, and destroy the world.

She could stop it. She knew how. But there was this terrible feeling, this sickness in her belly. The Cetra, they whispered to her, spoke to her.

If she went to the forgotten capital to summon holy, she would die.

It was an awful, terrifying decision to have to make. If she went along with it, and perished, she wouldn't be able to see her friends again, to be with them...to be with Cloud. If she didn't and decided to run, a lot of people would die. Everyone would die.

Could she be that selfish?

For a moment, a lingering desire within her heart ached, begged to be embraced. She wished she could be that selfish, spend whatever time was left being with her friends and enjoying their company before the end.

She couldn't bring herself to do that. She cared to much, loved to much. She wanted her friends to live, be happy. For Marlene to grow up, with the loving care of her father, Barret. For Cid to be able to tell Shera that he loves her, and maybe even get married. For Vincent to forgive himself, and for Yuffie to finally fill the hole stealing has not yet filled. For Nanaki to fulfill his dream to become a great warrior like his father, and for Caitsith to be the person he wants to be following his own conscience. For Tifa to find love and let go of her guilt. For Cloud to stop carrying the world on his shoulders, and be happy.

She loved all of her friends so much, she wanted the best for them all.

So, she would go. She would summon Holy, hopefully in time to stop Meteor.

She would die. For them.

For everyone.

She just hoped that it would help, that it would stop the destruction of the planet, and save her friends and every other living creature.

As Aeris made her way to the forgotten capital after slipping away from the group, her thoughts full of memories of the good times she had with her friends, and the date she had with Cloud at the golden saucer.

Strangely, she found herself at peace with her decision.

She looked her own death in the face, and accepted it. She would miss her friends, but one day they would meet each other in the life stream once again.

She just wished that she knew that her sacrifice would make a difference.

She hoped it would.


End file.
